


Fear of Storms

by ohnoanotheroneofthese (didnotthinkitwouldcometothis)



Category: Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Panic Attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 09:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5411015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/didnotthinkitwouldcometothis/pseuds/ohnoanotheroneofthese
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kellin has a severe fear of storms but Vic is there to help him any way he can. Except this time, when the storm starts when Kellin is alone at home. Will Vic be there before things get really bad?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fear of Storms

**Author's Note:**

> Idea from an anonymous prompt I got on tumblr!

Vic and Toy were sitting on Tony's couch watching television when Vic first heard it.

"Shit, was that thunder?" He asked and sat up straighter on the couch, trying to listen if he could hear the distinct sound again.

"I don't know, but it did say on the news this morning that there will be a storm tonight so I wouldn't be surprised," Tony answered.

And like on cue the sound of thunder could be heard again, this time clearly closer and louder.

"Shit, I have to get going," Vic said and quickly stood up from the couch. How could he have missed the news about the storm? He had to hurry home quickly before it gets worse.

"What, why?" Tony asked with a confused expression, standing up as well and watching as Vic put his jacket on and checked that he had everything with him before heading towards the door.

"Kellin is alone at home," was all Vic said but that was enough to remind Tony about why Vic needed to hurry home.

"Yeah, okay, that's fine," Tony said quickly and opened the door to Vic. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye," Vic said and headed towards his car. It had started to rain by now and the thunder was more frequent. He fumbled his pocket for the phone and tried calling Kellin. The phone rang and rang but no-one answered.

"God dammit, Kell, answer your phone.." Vic muttered and got in the car. 

Maybe he's just sleeping and that's why he doesn't answer? Maybe he hasn't even noticed the storm. Yeah, that's it. That's why Kellin isn't answering, Vic hoped.

Kellin had a really severe fear of storms, thunderstorms to be more precise. Just the though of an oncoming storm was enough to make him anxious, so he was usually pretty on top of things when it came to knowing when there's going to be a storm. Why didn't he know this time? If he had told Vic that there was a storm coming he would have stayed at home instead of going to Tony's. 

Kellin's fear had started when he was young, around the age of six, and there had been a big thunderstorm. Kellin had woken up to the loud noise of a lightning hitting the tree just outside Kellin's bedroom window, setting it aflame in the process. Kellin had been frozen with fear as his parents had hurried to Kellin's room and took him out of there, just as the fire had reached their house. Kellin and his parents had survived without even a scratch on them, but their home had suffered quite a lot of damage before the fire brigade was eventually able to put the fire down. Since then Kellin had been afraid of thunder, not being able to forget the loud noise and how close the lightning had hit. His fear caused him panic attacks, and Vic was really concerned because for all he knew, Kellin was alone at home right now. 

There was barely any traffic on the roads, and Vic was really grateful of that as he drove to his and Kellin's house. He was extra grateful of not seeing any police cars on his way to their home, since the speed he was driving at wasn't exactly the same as in the speed limit. When Vic reached his and Kellin's house he quickly parked the car in the driveway and rushed to the door. He tried to open it but it was locked, so he fumbled with his keys to quickly unlock the door and step inside. 

"Kellin?!" He asked as he closed the door behind him. Vic got no reply and there was no sign of Kellin. Vic shrugged the wet jacket to the floor and quickly searched around the apartment, still not seeing Kellin. "Kellin, are you in here?"

Vic got to their bedroom door when he heard the labored breathing. He opened the door, and as the lighting hit in the distance again and illuminated the room, Vic could see a lump underneath the blankets. As the loud grumbling followed the lighting, the lump underneath the blankets jumped a little, the sounds of breathing getting more frequent and short. 

"Kellin!" Vic exclaimed and rushed to the bed, taking the blankets away so he could see Kellin better. He was curled into a ball, lying on his side and shaking violently. His breathing was getting really franctic and the look in his eyes was scared, he couldn't focus his eyes on Vic's for a long time, instead they were darting around the room, as if trying to find a way to escape. 

That's when another lighting hit and Kellin whimpered, reaching for the blankets so he could hide again as the loud sound filled the room.

"No baby, don't. It's easier for you to breathe in here and if you stay in an upright position." Vic said as he put the blankets further away from Kellin and helped him to sit up, Kellin flinching away from Vic’s touch as soon as he was sitting on top of the blankets. Vic hated denying Kellin this small way of hiding but he knew that this was for the best. The blanket was thick and warm and the hot and stuffed air underneath it wasn't the best option when it seemed like Kellin wasn't getting enough oxygen even now when he was on top of the blankets. It honestly looked like he was about to pass out.

"I need you to focus on your breathing, okay?" Vic said slowly, keeping eye contact with Kellin and hoping that he was focusing on his words. "Can you do that for me Kellin? Can you focus on your breathing?"

The tears run down Kellin's cheeks as he frantically shook his head. "N-no..." He struggled to say while he was still breathing fast, too fast. 

Vic really wanted to reach out to Kellin and wrap him in a hug or even just comfort him by taking his hand in his, but he knew that that wasn't how it worked. Physical contact would only make Kellin worse. He had flinched away earlier when Vic helped him to sit up and Vic had to wait until Kellin himself initiated it to know that it was safe to do so. It was difficult to fight his instincts and keep his distance, but he had learnt the hard way that the touch was the last thing Kellin needed now. It would do more harm than good.

Now his main focus was on Kellin's breathing, and getting it to calm down.

"I know you can, love," Vic encouraged slowly but clearly. "Just follow my example, okay?"

Kellin didn't show any indication whether or not he had heard or understood what Vic had said but Vic decided to start showing the example, hoping that Kellin would follow his lead.

"Breathe in," Vic said, taking a deep breath and keeping his eyes on Kellin's the whole time. Kellin was looking at Vic intently, looking like he was really trying to focus. "And breath out..."

Vic continued this, and eventually he noticed that Kellin started to follow his lead, his breathing getting more regular.

"And breath in..." That's when a lightning illuminated the room again and Kellin's breathing started to quicken once more. The storm must be going past, Vic thought gladly, as he faintly registered that it took a while longer for the sound to come this time, and it wasn't as loud as the previous ones had been.

It was still loud enough for Kellin to lose control of his breathing, so Vic had to get him to focus on him and breathing again, rather than the storm.

"Kellin," he said firmly, gaining the eye contact again. "Focus on me, okay? You were doing so good love, keep breathing like me, okay?"

Vic continued showing an example with his slow and steady breathing, occasionally encouraging Kellin and telling him how well he was doing. Kellin's breathing was somewhat normal now, and when the lightning hit again, Kellin jumped and reached to grab Vics hand in his, holding it tightly.

"It's okay," Vic reassured Kellin, brushing his thumb over Kellin's knuckles what he was hoping would be a soothing manner. "I know it's scary but did you hear that? The storm is going away, it won't hurt you."

Kellin looked at Vic, being able to hold eye contact and overall looking less frantic. His body was still tense and shaking, tears falling from his eyes and his breathing maybe a bit faster than normal, but definitely better than before.

"Can I hug you?" Vic asked cautiously, thinking that maybe the hand holding was a sing that it would be okay to physically comfort Kellin too. 

"Y-yeah.." Kellin said slowly and nodded a little, leaning closer to Vic as Vic let go of Kellin's hand and wrapped his arms around the shaking form of his boyfriend. 

The hug felt comforting for Vic too, since this was a sign of the panic attack going past. The worst was over and Kellin was starting to calm down, no longer scaring Vic as much. 

"Everything's okay, you made it, I'm so proud of you." Vic reassured the sniffling Kellin, soothingly moving his hand up and down Kellin's back. 

The sound of thunder could be heard again, this time even more faintly, and the only reaction from Kellin was his body tensing more and his arms tightening their hold around Vic.

"See, it's going away, it won't hurt you." Vic said, continuing to hold Kelin tightly.

"Thank you," Kellin said quietly, letting out a yawn.

"No need to thank me," Vic replied softly. "Do you want to lie down? You must be exhausted."

"Yeah," Kellin said and took his arms from around Vic, moving so he was able to rest his head on the pillow.

"Okay, I'll be back, I just need to change to something more comfortable," Vic said. Kellin was already wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, but Vic was still wearing his jeans. Not being excited about he idea of sleeping in those jeans, he stood up, only to be stopped by Kellin's hand tightly grasping his.

"Please don't go," Kellin pleaded and looked at Vic.

"I'm just walking over to that wardrobe, okay? I'm coming back before you even notice." Vic tried to say, but the grip of Kellin's hand didn't lessen.

"Please?" Kellin asked.

Not being able to say no to that hurt puppy look, Vic gave in, sitting back on the bed and getting rid of his jeans and hoodie, leaving him in his boxers and a t-shirt.

"Thank you," Kellin said quietly.

Vic laid down on the bed, pulling the covers over them both. Instantly, Kellin latched on his side and burrowed his head on Vic's chest, holding on tightly. Vic turned so he was facing Kellin and wrapped his arms around him securely.   
They laid on the bed, Vic combing his fingers through Kellin's hair, trying to help his still tense boyfriend relax. The sounds of storm could still be heard every once in a while, each sound more distant than the other. The sounds made Kellin jump and hold onto Vic tighter, and Vic would whisper encouraging words to reassure Kellin that everything was fine. 

Eventually, Vic felt Kellin's body relax against him, his breathing turning lighter and calmer. Vic looked at his face and noticed that Kellin had fallen asleep. He must have been exhausted after the night he'd had. The panic attacks always seemed to drain him tremendously and Vic was happy that the storm had passed and Kellin was able to fall asleep. 

Vic lightly kissed the top of Kellin's head, careful not to wake him up. He got more comfortable under the blankets, still keeping his arms around his boyfriend, and fell asleep. 

-.-.-

On the following morning Vic was the first one to wake up. There were no sounds of storm or even rain anymore and he could see the sunlight glowing behind the curtains. Kellin was still fast asleep with his head on Vic's chest and his arm over his middle. Vic tightened his grip on Kellin a bit and used his other hand to lightly brush Kellin's hair out of his face. He looked so calm lying there and breathing slowly, a stark contrast to last night. 

What Vic witnessed last night was by no means the first time he's seen it. But every time it happened, it was as awful to witness as ever. It's times like that when Vic feels the most helpless. There wasn't really much he could do, the sound of thunder too loud to be covered by anything. All he can do in those situations is wait and be there for Kellin, with no good way to help take it all away. But no matter how awful it feels for Vic, he knows that it's million times worse for Kellin who is actually experiencing the panic attack. Vic wishes he had a way to take it all away, hell, he would change with Kellin in a heartbeat. But that's not possible. All he can do is be there for Kellin, to do whatever small things they are that help him, if even a little bit. It wasn't something Vic would ever get used to, and would probably be something Kellin would have to deal with for the rest of his life. 

Vic's thoughts were brought back to the current moment when he felt Kellin stirring beside him. He watched as Kellin slowly blinked his eyes open, only to scrunch them shut immediately, groaning lightly.

"What's wrong?" Vic asked softly.

"Headache.." Kellin mumbled.

"No wonder after last night," Vic said, combing his fingers through Kellin's hair. "Do you want me to get up and bring you some medicine and water?"

"No, just, please stay here for a bit longer." Kellin said quietly, tightening his grip on Vic.

"Okay," Vic whispered, not wanting to ruin the calm atmosphere.

They laid in bed for a while, but eventually Vic decided to ask the question that had been bothering him since last night.

"Hey, Kells..."

"Hm?"

"How come you didn't know that there was a storm coming?" Vic voiced the question. "I mean, usually you're pretty on top of things when it comes to those."

"Oh..." Kellin started hesitantly. "Well... actually... I did know that it was coming, they talked about it on the news..."

Kellin's voice was so quiet that Vic had to really focus so he could hear what he was saying. When Kellin had finished talking, Vic had to take a moment to doubt if he had really heard right. He sat up on their bed, breaking out of the comfortable position to look Kellin in the eyes.

"You knew?" He asked, just to clarify that he had heard right.

"Yeah.." Kellin said, sitting up as well but avoiding looking into Vic's eyes, instead staring at the sheets.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Vic asked. He was confused because Kellin usually told him things like that. "I would have stayed home with you so you wouldn't have needed to be alone."

"I know, and that's the reason I didn't tell you." Kellin said, finally looking at Vic with a look of uncertainty.

"You didn't want me to be here?" Vic frowned. He didn't understand what Kellin meant. If Vic would have been here he could have been able to help. Kellin most likely wouldn't have avoided having a panic attack but he wouldn't have needed to be alone. 

"No," Kellin said quickly. "I mean yes. I mean that I didn't want to be a burden."

"What do you mean?" Now Vic was even more confused. Kellin thought he would have been a burden?

"It's just..." Kellin sighed before continuing. "Every time there's a storm coming you stay at home with me. Don't get me wrong, I love it and it's easier to cope when I don't need to be alone and I have someone to distract me but I don't want you to think that you have to always be here. You were so excited about spending time with Tony since it's been a while since you two had been hanging out and I didn't want to ruin that. I knew that if I'd tell you about the storm you would have cancelled the plans with Tony, don't even try to deny that. I wanted to prove that I could handle it by myself. Unfortunately that didn't happen and you came just in time to witness me failing miserably."

"Oh, Kells," Vic started and leaned towards his boyfriend to wrap him in a hug. Now it all made sense. He understood the reasons why Kellin hadn't wanted to tell him about the storm but he didn't agree with them, and he needed Kellin to understand his side of things. 

"I get why you did what you did but you have to understand that cancelling the plans I had made with Tony would have hurt less than knowing that there was a storm going on and I couldn't be with you, that you were alone at home dealing with it by yourself. Tony would have understood why I cancelled our plans, hell, he was really understanding when I had to leave in a hurry last night."

"I just don't want this to happen so often that you'll get annoyed with my stupid fear of storms ruining your social life. I don't want to restrict your life, it's bad enough that I need to suffer from it, it shouldn't affect you too," Kellin mumbled to Vic's shoulder.

"I'd never get annoyed with something you can't control," Vic said honestly. 

"We've been over this so many times, Kells. Your fear isn't stupid, you went through a big trauma and it's completely understandable how storms make you feel now. And as I've said before, I don't mind being with you every time there's a storm. I want to be here for you and I know that I can't do much but I want to try to do all I can to make it easier for you."

"You sure?" Kellin asked, pulling back a little so he could look Vic in the eyes.  

"One hundred percent." Vic said. "I understand that you had only my best interest in mind but you have to promise me that next time when there's a storm coming you'll tell me, okay?"

"Okay." Kellin said quietly, nodding slightly. 

"Good," Vic said and smiled a little. "Now, how about I make us some breakfast? I don't know about you but I'm really hungry."

"Sounds good," Kellin said and stood up from the bed. "I think I'll go find something for this headache first."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." Vic said and stood up as well, watching as Kellin left the room. Vic reached to where his jeans were lying on the floor from last night and fished his phone out of the pocket. He searched a weather app and downloaded it, planning on checking it every day from now on.

"Just to make sure that this won't happen again," he mumbled to himself and headed towards the kitchen to help Kellin make breakfast.

 


End file.
